This invention pertains to a therapeutic apparatus, and more particularly to a self acupressure apparatus wherein pressure may be applied to various areas of the body in order to provide temporary relief of certain ailments.
The apparatus of the present invention has been found to be highly beneficial in providing temporary alleviation of certain body ailments which are not responsive to medication. Some examples of ailments which do not respond to medication, but have been found to respond to pressure therapy are arthritis, bursitis, migraine headaches, tennis elbow, osteomalacia and the like.
The art of acupressure is similar to the art of acupuncture except that no needles are used in applying the acupressure treatment. Specifically, acupressure is the application of pressure to various body areas to effect nerve junctures within the body. The nerve junctures affected in order to provide temporary relief of the above ailments are generally associated with the sciatic nerve, which is a sensor and motor nerve originating in the sacral plexus and running through the pelvis and upper leg. The relief brought about by the application of acupressure to these nerve junctures is probably the result of either the temporary deadening of the nerve junctures or a redistribution of the blood supply.
An example of earlier application of acupressure is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,590 issued on July 26, 1977. The device of this patent has several disadvantages, the first of which is its use of electricity in providing therapy, and the resulting requirement that the device be made of electrically conductive materials. Such use of electricity naturally carries the risk of subjecting the body to serious shock. A second disadvantage of the subject device is the small diameter of the pressure member and the inability to replace the pressure member with members of larger diameter. A third and most significant problem with the device of this invention is that it is hand held and consequently requires an additional person to administer the therapeutic pressure on certain areas of the body, for example, the upper and lower back areas. Certainly, when relief is required, it is highly desirable that the relief may be administered by the user of the device.